Five things to take away from The Bridge, episodes five and six

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(C) Filmlance International AB – Photographer: Carolina Romare

With last night’s episode we’ve (unbelievably) reached the second part of this 10-part series, the double bills giving so much food for thought, new character developments and action it’s sometimes hard to take it all in in one go. Still, even though there was lots of things going on in episode five felt like a bit of pause for breath when it came to the Clown Killer case and any development in the investigation. And then episode six happened. Here are five things I took away from last night’s episode…

Mother figures
If last week’s dominant theme was father figures, things shifted to matriarchs this week. Anna’s domineering mother was in particularly fine, scathing form, telling her beleaguered daughter once the affair with Benjamin had come out: “If you’d had an affair with a man your own age you’d simply have been unfaithful. Now you’re unfaithful and pathetic.” Cheers. But there were other things to consider. Linn stepped up her interest in Saga’s past, and was seen by Saga talking to her mother. Saga’s mother who has loomed large throughout the series, took her own life by the end of the sixth episode, now leaving a mother-shaped hole in Saga’s life. There was also John’s little girl Julia, brought into the office because he couldn’t get child care. Saga’s interaction with her was less than enthusiastic.

The re-emergence of Rasmus
Yes, Rasmus. The incompetent cop from the last series was hired, unbelievably by Linn, to go over Jennifer Norén’s case. When Saga questioned her about her ex-colleague’s appearance, Linn maintained that everyone makes mistakes and Rasmus had been doing some exemplary work since his reprisal. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Freddie HolstWe learned a lot more about Freddie Holst, who emerged as a suspect in the Clown Killer case. A businessman troubleshootery type, his passion was modern art and when the link was made between the murderous set-ups and the pieces of art in Freddie’s own collection, Saga and Henrik naturally made the link. But there was more going on in Freddie’s life than just a link to artwork: his relationships with the heavily pregnant Jeanette and his heavily pregnant wife Åsa raised eyebrows. He seems to be the father to both of these women’s children, one conventionally and the other a surrogate. He moved Jeanette into his guest house, much to Åsa’s dislike. This is a strange relationship. Freddie is a strange guy. But a killer? It’s yet to be seen.

The Clown Killer caseAside from the links to Freddie and his art collection, things were going slowly on the Clown Killer case and Linn was very keen to let Saga know it. In terms of structure, episode five felt like a mid-series breather, focusing as it did on Freddie’s relationship with Claes (and Claes’s relationship with his scary stalker Annika), Jeanette and Åsa, getting rid of Lukas and exploring Erika’s doomed relationship with Benjamin and the full-out from that story, which had been exposed by the press. But episode six dived straight back in with a new victim – Anna’s husband Håkan – another diabolical tableau and another symbol burned into the victim’s mouth. An array of suspects have been built up, but they’re not quite there yet in terms of clarity.

Saga and Henrik’s relationship
Last week I questioned whether these two broken people could ever push aside their pasts and get together as a couple, and by the end of the sixth episode there was evidence to suggest that they were growing closer. Henrik, who was initially dealing with Lukas’s threat to expose his drug use, was eager to spend some quality time with Saga (like, y’know, getting to know her outside of a work and sexual context), but she wasn’t having any of it. But the death of her mother caused her to go to Henrik’s late the same night. Henrik was loathed to let her in – let anyone in – but once inside they talked, and he opened up about his missing family and how he still sees them and interacts with them. They slept together without having sex, because both needed each other. You felt it was a breakthrough in the relationship.